OSHKOSH, Wis. (WFRV) – The National Transportation Safety Board has released its final report on the fatal Warbird crash during EAA AirVenture 2023, citing pilot error as the cause of the crash that killed Super Bowl winner Bruce Collie’s daughter and her passenger.
According to the NTSB’s report, the pilot and passenger departed at 8:57 a.m. on July 29, 2023, in their North American AT-6D airplane, N49961, and climbed to an altitude of 3,900 feet while turning to fly over Lake Winebago.
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After leveling off, officials say data showed the airplane decelerated as it made a right turn, followed by a left, causing the load factor to increase and eventually bringing the plane to a speed slow enough to cause it to stall and enter a rapid descent.
Witnesses reportedly saw the airplane in a flat spin to the right that continued until it hit the waters of Lake Winnebago.
The airplane was said to be destroyed and broken into pieces upon impact with the lake, killing the pilot, the 30-year-old daughter of Bruce Collie, Devyn Reily, and the passenger, 20-year-old Zach Colliemoreno.
The airplane made a right turn toward the north for about 3 miles before it turned toward the east-northeast. The flightpath took the airplane over Lake Winnebago, outside of the OSH Class D airspace. The airplane proceeded out over the lake, reached a peak altitude of 3,900 ft, before it descended rapidly into the lake at 9:05 a.m.
The National Transportation Safety Board
Officials say an examination of the airplane, its engine, and other related systems did not reveal any pre-impact anomalies that would have affected the normal operation of the plane.
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Based on the available information, the NTSB stated it was “the pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall/spin.”
